"Confluence"

We are pleased to invite you to attend the 3rd annual James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference to be held in Pittsburgh, PA, at the Omni William Penn April 26th and 27th, 2013. ECA’s convention theme, “Confluence” reflects both the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers coming together to form the Ohio River, but also the long tradition communication research has of bringing together ideas from various perspectives of communicator, message, channel, and context to better understand how humans create meaning and relationships.

Papers for the Undergraduate Scholar’s Conference will be accepted from every sub-discipline in the field of communication. We will also offer a range of presentation formats including:

Competitive Paper Presentations

Competitive Poster Sessions

Panel DiscussionsGuidelines for each of these are attached to this call.

Faculty, please note that the deadline for submissions is December 19th to allow for submitted projects completed in the Fall 2012 quarter or semester.

Competitive Paper Presentations are similar to formal presentations where the authors explain their research in a 10 to 15 minute oral presentation. In this presentation format, 3 or 4 papers will be presented together containing a general theme that links the papers together. Furthermore, these presentations will be followed by a response from a top-scholar in the field of communication who will provide feedback on your paper.

5) Contact information for student(s)’ faculty sponsor(s).

6) Statement of professional responsibility should follow the abstract on the second page of the submitted manuscript.

“In submitting the attached paper or proposal, I/We recognize that this submission is considered a professional responsibility. I/We agree to present this panel or paper if it is accepted and programmed. I/We further recognize that all who attend and present at ECA’s Undergraduate Scholar’s Conference must register and pay required fees.”

7) Your manuscript should be e-mailed to ECAUSC@aol.com by December 19th by 5:00 PM EST. Please note that this is latter than the traditional ECA paper deadline.

(If a paper or panel is multi-authored, please indicate who will be presenting at the convention. In case someone has many presentations that overlap, this helps the First Vice President determine how to slot people.)

Competitive Poster Submissions

1) A title page with the title of the paper and the author(s)’ affiliations, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses.

2) Mark "Debut" if the author has not presented previously at a regional or national convention.

3) A one-page abstract on the second page (if a completed paper).

4) Some projects are better represented visually in a poster session and may not involve a full-length paper. These poster proposals should include a justification for why the student(s) project would make a strong poster (lack of paper completion is not a strong justification).

Competitive Poster Presentation

Competitive Poster Presentations involving an author or group of authors standing next to a physical poster that visually explains the crux of the paper. Individuals will walk around reading the posters and talking to the author(s) about the study. One of the nice things about poster sessions is that they tend to be low key and full of energy. If you have never presented at an academic conference, poster sessions are a less stressful first foray into the academic community. You may even want to consider making a handout that summarizes your study to individuals who talk to you about your study.

5) Contact information for student(s)’ faculty sponsor(s).

6) Statement of professional responsibility should follow the abstract on the second page of the submitted manuscript.

“In submitting the attached paper or proposal, I/We recognize that this submission is considered a professional responsibility. I/We agree to present this panel or paper if it is accepted and programmed. I/We further recognize that all who attend and present at ECA’s Undergraduate Scholar’s Conference must register and pay required fees.”

7) Your manuscript should be e-mailed to ECAUSC@aol.com by December 19th by 5:00 PM EST. Please note that this is latter than the traditional ECA paper deadline.

(If a poster proposal is multi-authored, please indicate who will be presenting at the convention. In case someone has many presentations that overlap, this helps the First Vice President determine how to slot people.)

4) Title and abstracts for each paper or presentation.5) Program copy (a 75 word description) as it will appear in the final program. 6) A detailed rationale for the program/panel.7) Contact information for student(s)’ faculty sponsor(s).8) Statement of professional responsibility.

“In submitting the attached paper or proposal, I/We recognize that this submission is considered a professional responsibility. I/We agree to present this panel or paper if it is accepted and programmed. I/We further recognize that all who attend and present at ECA’s Undergraduate Scholar’s Conference must register and pay required fees.”

8) Your panel proposal should be e-mailed to ECAUSC@aol.com by December 19th by 5:00 PM EST.

Please note that this is latter than the traditional ECA paper deadline.

(If a paper or panel is multi-authored, please indicate who will be presenting at the convention. In case someone has many presentations that overlap, this helps the First Vice President determine how to slot people.)